Well, I can't believe it. Derek and I are actually married! It's almost been 6 months already! Love it sooooo much!!

17 Days!!!

I'm going to be Rachel Maddox in 17 days!!!!!!! This is so sureal! Trying not to get overwhelmed by everything that still needs to be done. I'm just so glad that I'll be seeing my man 10 days! it's been 2 months since I've seen my favorite guy in the whole world and I certainly do miss him!

I'm ENGAGED!!!!!!!

It finally happened! Derek Maddox is finally my fiance! And, in two months we're going to be married!!!! Things seemed to be on hold for so long. He was having difficulty finding a full-time firefighter position and that kept postponing the wedding. Then, the Lord opened up another door, Bible College. We'll be heading to the Baptist College of Florida only a week and half after our wedding. It's funny how things can go so slowly and then BAM! suddenly you're planning a wedding in only a few months, becoming a wife, leaving your family, moving to the opposite side of the USA, and going to Bible College! I'm excited though. I don't know if anyone reads this anymore, but that's ok. I just wanted to give a long overdue update on my life. 

Rebuilder's Retreat

There it is. Well, okay, it's not the place we stayed, but it was across the street, across the river, and up the mountain from where we stayed. I can't believe people live in places like that. It was huge!

Can you guess what state we were in for the Retreat this year?

Now, this is where we stayed. Not bad at all! I was so glad that we were able to stay on the grounds at the retreat center. Caitlin, Nishelle, and I had the room that was right behing that van. 

Setting Up!

Oh yes, cords. I know it's my 4th year, but I still don't know what half of them are used for.

One of our hotspots has issues. Thankfully Adam knows what he's doing.

The sound board. Definitely the area I tend to leave to the experts. Look at all those cords!!

Now this is an easy job. No we aren't being lazy and watching everyone else work. If you've ever tried to set up the screen for the projector (especially when it's been on a cold truck for a long time), you'll know exactly what we're doing.

Can't forget the booktable. Even though it's been almost 2 years since I was Booktable manager, sometimes I really miss it. So....

...when I found out they needed someone to run the booktable for Dr.Walt Larimore, one of the speakers at Rebuilders, I immediately volunteered. Yes!!! It was a lot of fun! 

I think my favorite part of Rebuilder's is getting to meet all the amazing people who attend. They have such hearts for God and they really seem to have a great burden for God to send revival to this nation. Even though we're there to minister to them, many times God uses them to encourage us.

Mr & Mrs. Bill and Jane Judge were my host parents a few years ago during one of our summits in Florida. It was such a blessing to see them again! Sometimes when I tell people that this is my last year in Life Action, they make me feel like I'm going to be missing out on everything God is doing. That can be very discouraging to hear over and over. However, on the last day of the retreat Mrs. Judge encouraged me that no matter where I am, if I'm following God, I'm not going to be missing out on a thing. I'm moving to a new location, but still serving the same awesome God that I have been these last four years. I don't think she knew it, but her encouragement meant so much to me. Yes, serving in Life Action is an amazing, life-changing opportunity, but being in the center of God's will is always an adventure even if it takes you somewhere else. God has been so good and I'm very glad that He let us help out at the Retreat this year.

Joey's Wedding!

It happened! And what a weekend it was! The best part for me, of course, was seeing Derek!  Everyone knows that flexibility is something you learn while traveling on the road. Well, we definitely put that into practice because...















...during the wedding rehearsal, Derek found out that he was leading worship for the wedding. Both he and Brad Hall, the guitarist, had never even heard one of the songs before. It was funny to watch their faces. PANIC! Of course it would be ready for the service the next day, right? No problem! They ended up doing a great job!


After the rehearsal, we went back to Joey's house, which, by the way, is a pretty nice place! Definitely a great place for hanging out!

Now for the day of the wedding and the other story of flexibility. *smile*

I came in early with Chrishonda to hang out with Amanda as the worship team tried to figure out their music. Shonda was going to run back to the house and get ready after they were done practicing. I told her I'd just stay at the church. I hadn't seen Derek in three months and wasn't planning on running all over the place when I could stay with him. So, she left. I made sure to claim some seats close to the front, because I wanted to see and be able to get good pictures. Things were going along great, and then, suddenly, I started getting this strange feeling. As I watched people slowly wandered in, I realized that there was no music. Ok, so I'm a pianist, I tend to notice these things. I looked around for Chrishonda, but she wasn't back yet. Then, Derek came running in, and told me that Shonda had been locked out of the house and was going to be late. So, guess who played the prelude? Yep! I just made stuff up. It was quite fun, however, it didn't end there. It was almost time for the people to start walking down the aisle, and she still wasn't there. It was hilarious! I was playing the piano while Derek was trying to figure out which songs I'd have to play. Great! Sight-reading for a wedding. I kept praying, Lord, please keep me from destroying everything. So, with people directing me from the back of the long sanctuary, I played the processional. The one song I didn't feel comfortable playing was, of course, the most important one, the Wedding March. As the last of the wedding party marched down the aisle, Chrishonda showed up. Ahh! It was almost time to play the dreaded song. She waited for the flower girl to get to her spot and then told me to move. I dove out of the chair and landed with my face in the carpet.(It's a good thing this church had a nice long modesty wall. No one saw my graceful landing. Thank goodness!) Chrishonda slid onto the chair and started playing the Wedding March just in time. Talk about an adrenaline rush. So, for the rest of the wedding, I sat on stage with Chrishonda and Brad. I looked out at the audience, the pew filled with Life Action people, and my camera, which never got any pictures of the actual ceremony even though it was in a great spot. Though I don't have any pictures, I will certainly never forget that day. I can't believe that Joey is married!

The Life Action Reunion! Ya gotta love weddings. It's amazing how many people made it down to Louisiana.